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Saturday, August 30, 2014

WIPMarathon Report - August

In chapter one of my manuscript, my MC Taz complains that her driver's license is "growing stale and moldy from lack of use." The same is true about my manuscript. If it were a cracker you'd chip your tooth trying to eat it.

Translation: I've done nothing this month.

So onto my pitiful stats.

Last report word count + chapter count/scene count: 108,878.

Current report WC + CC/ SC: 109,033. I don't know how it's possible that my book grew by 155 words considering I haven't touched the thing this month. Same thing happened last month. I think words jump into my manuscript while I'm sleeping.

WIP Issues This Month: The fact that my work in progress hasn't really been in progress is a pretty big issue.

Part of my problem is I feel so discouraged about rewriting the last chapter. Every time I sit down to do it, I get this blech-feeling and I make excuses to do something else instead. But it needs to be done! And I feel like I can't really move on to anything else until I do it.

What I learned this month in writing: Manuscripts can not be revised through osmosis, no matter how hard you try.

Also, THIS, which I am going to *try* to apply for the month of September:

What distracted me this month while writing: August is the month I go back to work. The first few weeks of school are so insane that writing is completely off the table. Now things are stabilizing, and I really want to get back into the writing-groove, but I have to figure out how to bust through this new habit I've developed of avoidance and force myself to type through the 'ick.'

Goal for next month: To have chapter 37 (my last chapter) completely rewritten and final revisions of the book underway. I really, REALLY want to have this book published by the middle of December. I'd be an awesome way to ring in the New Year, plus I could start 2015 with book 2 underway (Aviva's story).

Last 200 words: My last 200 words haven't changed in two months, so I'll go ahead and post an excerpt from the middle somewhere. How about something light that shows all four of the sisters? *searches MS* Okay, here we go:

Phee’s eyes, still narrowed, turned toward the flowers. The block of ice liquefied, and what seemed like a gallon of water dumped down on the table. Krystal lunged backward, dropping the flowers and nearly falling out of her chair. The bouquet landed on the table with a slop and then burst into flames, turning the puddle of water around it into simmering, hissing, melted-ice-soup. Maybe flowers weren’t the best idea. “Phee!” The three girls shouted at once. She batted her eyes innocently. “What? He obviously knows about us. Might as well have a little fun.” Stryder looked fixedly at Phee, then reached for the pitcher of iced-tea on the counter. He dumped the tea over the bouquet-torch until there was nothing left but scorched tiger lily mush. Now would be a very bad time for Mrs. Aevos to walk back into the room. He wondered if the four sisters had any idea how closely their powers were tied to their emotions. “Shall we wait for you to levitate them or vanquish them or whatever it is you do?” he raised his eyebrows at Aviva, “Or shall we call it a day?”

Aviva smiled, appearing unruffled by the fact that Stryder knew she was ‘gifted.’ Having missed out on the New Year’s Eve drama, she was clearly enjoying herself. “I’m pretty sure this soggy mess is beyond even my abilities.”

14 comments:

Love that picture! Um, yeah, FORCE is amazing. It really does work. That's how I start most of my stories. I force myself to sit down and at least try to write SOMEthing for even 15 minutes, and once I start, it's like, "Oh, yeah, I know how to do this." ^_^

Oh my gosh, is next year 2015?! XO It's okay. Lol! YES, finish! You have 3 whole months to polish this beast! You can totally do it. Think of all your writing friends out here who are DYING to see your shiny awesome cover. *nods* Yep.

I agree Krystal. Something about the starting is SO HARD, but once you're a little bit into the process, the ideas start flowing and you wonder why you waited so long. (I've noticed this same dynamic for painting too, by the way--Empty Canvas Syndrome and Blinking Cursor Syndrome are like evil cousins).

Yes, I'm afraid we're going to be in 2015 in a little over four months. Crazy, right?? ;) And yes, I need to polish this beast!

Okay, Jodi, you may not have gotten anything done on your WIP, but you DID practice your writing skills in writing this hilarious blog post that made me laugh out loud multiple times, so there's that. :-D

I too need to work on letting myself feel the "ick" and then writing through it. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. Writers have strong enough stomachs for it, I think.

I hope the school year goes well for you and you get lots of writing done this September.

YES, writers definitely have to have a strong stomach. And we have to be slightly obsessive (okay, a lot obsessive), and we have to walk that line between normalcy and insanity on a daily basis. It's a good thing I have non-writers in my life, because I think they're the only thing that keeps me from tipping all the way over to the crazy side, sometimes.

Off topic, but love your avi! Gorgeous pic.

I'm glad my post made you laugh! And best wishes for YOUR new school year (have you started yet?)

That seems like a valid hypothesis, Eric. I'm sure I was wooed by said-writers seemingly guileless charm, drawn in like a mesmerized moth (blood of an innocent) into a beautiful, deadly flame. Then ZAP, 155 words were added (or maybe I should say "sizzle" since it's a flame and not a bug zapper).

Do you think the next sizzle will lead to my last chapter being rewritten? If so, bring on the dark and obscure magic!

It might be merely a coincidence Eric, but I pushed through the 'blech' and finished rewriting my last chapter! (Hence my shoddy social networking lately). Your dark magic doesn't have any lingering side-effects, right?

Wow, I LOVE love love that image. I'm printing that bad boy off. It's so true! I forced myself to sit down and work on a random scene in the middle of my WIP which I haven't touched since my health issues took over a few months back. I rewrote the scene, and though it was like pulling teeth, halfway through I began to get that energy back, and it felt so good. So, THANK YOU for sharing this! Fake it until you make it :)

Love your excerpt, too! Great voice and very tight writing. Very much looking forward to reading this :)

Right Cheyenne? It's so basic, but really gets the point across. I actually made myself sit down and obey this graphic the day after writing this post, forcing myself to type past that blech-y feeling. It was ROUGH, because I had avoided my MS for a month, so that blechiness put up quite a fight. I think it took at least an hour before I realized that the writing was starting to flow more naturally. I'm glad this worked for you too, and yay for revisiting that scene! FAKE IT 'TIL YOU MAKE IT BABY.

I am SO excited for you read it, and I can't wait to read your stuff (tapping my fibers for ABOS).